If The Streets Were On Fire: Q&A with Director Alice Russell and Producer Julia Nottingham

WFTV members are invited to this online discussion with Director Alice Russell and Producer Julia Nottingham on their recent award-winning documentary, If The Streets Were On Fire. The Q&A will be moderated by Ashanti Omkar.

If The Streets Were On Fire is set during the height of the knife crime epidemic in London, and follows the story of two young men, Mac and Milo, from London’s Bike Life community fighting for their futures as they try to escape the harsh realities of street life through the brotherhood of biking. In a landscape decimated by austerity measures, a community called "BikeStormz” has sprung up in the void, providing one of the last safety nets for young people who are searching for hope in difficult circumstances. For those involved, biking is their escape, their respite and redemption, a lifeline, and a way of seeking solidarity and acceptance amongst a community who understand the realities of living in such close proximity to the world of street crime. Through the lives of two men from the community, the film weaves a rich tapestry of what it means to be a young person dealing with the realities of street life at this unprecedented moment.

There will be an opportunity to ask Alice and Julia questions during the last 15 minutes of the session.

You can watch If The Streets Were On Fire now on BBC IPlayer here.

Event Schedule

18:25: Please join the webinar waiting room

18:30: In conversation with Director Alice Russell and Producer Julia Nottingham.

19:15: Audience Q&A

19:30: Finish

Alice Russell, Director

Alice has worked in a variety of formats from shorts to feature docs for the likes of the BBC, Channel 4 and Vice News. She has worked on flagship current affairs strands Panorama and Dispatches, and her films have screened at festivals worldwide. Men Buy Sex was her first short film, and won the SIMA Creative Activism Award as well as Vimeo Staff Picks Best of the Month. Her second film, Agents of Change, was selected as a festival focus at Sheffield DocFest 2017.

Alice’s debut full length feature documentary, If the Streets Were on Fire, had its world premiere at the 66th BFI London Film Festival where it came second in the Audience Awards, followed by a limited theatrical release and broadcast premiere on BBC Storyville. It is available to stream on BBC iPlayer now, and recently won the Best Feature Documentary and Raindance Maverick awards at the British Independent Film Awards 2023.

Julia Nottingham, Producer

Julia is an award winning Producer and the founder of Dorothy St Pictures. Julia’s past credits include Pamela, A Love Story Dir: Ryan White (nominated Outstanding Documentary and Outstanding Music Composition Primetime Emmy Awards 2024), The Last Mountain Dir: Christopher Terrill (nominated Broadcast Tech Innovation Award 2022), 'Twas The Fight Before Christmas Dir: Becky Read (winner Grierson Best Documentary Prize 2022 and Best International Documentary Feature at Guanajuato International Film Festival 2022), If The Streets Were On Fire Dir: Alice Russell (second place 66th BFI London Film Festivals' Audience Awards), Be Water Dir: Bao Nguyen (Sundance 2020), XY Chelsea Dir: Tim Travers Hawkins (Tribeca 2019), Skate Kitchen Dir: Crystal Moselle featuring Jaden Smith (Sundance 2018), Kingdom Of UsDir: Lucy Cohen (LFF 2017, winner Best Documentary Prize Grierson 2018, nominated Outstanding Debut BAFTA 2018), Trophy Dir: Shaul Schwarz (Sundance 2017, winner Outstanding Nature documentary Emmy 2017), All These Sleepless Nights Dir: Michal Marczak (Best Director Sundance 2016), The Possibilites Are Endless Dir: Edward Lovelace and James Hall (SXSW 2014). In 2018 Julia was named by Screen International as a Future Leader.

How will the online event work?

This event will be live streamed via Zoom.us. Viewing details will be sent via your confirmation.

Attending participants will not be visible to others and will be muted throughout the session. After the talk, there will be an opportunity for audience members to ask their questions to the panel by using the Q&A feature.

This event is for existing WFTV members only.

If you are not a member and would like to join, membership costs just £100 + VAT/yr , please click here or email admin@wftv.org.uk

At WFTV, we want our events to be accessible for everyone. If you have any access requirements, please let us know in advance and we will do our best to accommodate you. Please contact admin@wftv.org.uk and we will get back to you as soon as possible.